Method and machine for removing fibers from plant stems



June 16, 1953 K. yoNDERS 2,641,303

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR REMovING FIBERS FROM PLANT sTEMs KAREL www K. VONDERS June I6, 1953 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR REMOVING FIBERS FROM PLANT STEMS Filed Feb. 16. 1948 s sheet's-sheet 2 FIG METHOD AND MACHINE FOR REMOVING FIBERS FROM PLANT sTEMs Filed Feb. 16, 1948 K. VONDERS June 16, 1953 6 Sheets'fSheeb 5 ndi ndi

KAREL VONDERS /7/5 ,Wm/77W K. VONDERS June 16, 1953 'METHOD AND MACHINE FOR REMOVING FIBERS FROM PLANT STEMS Filed Feb- 16, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l /fn/e/z/of.-

KAREL VONDER June 16, 1953\ K, VONDERS 2,641,803

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR REMOVING FIBERS FROM PLANT STEMS Filed Feb. 1e, 1948 A e sheets-sheet 5 KAREL VONDIRS June 16, 1953 K, VONDERS 2,641,803

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR REMOVING FIBERS FROM PLANT STEMS Filed Feb. 16, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 /w/z/or: KAREL VONDE /7/55 l/a//zey Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,641,803 ME'rHon ANDMACHIN FORRMVG FIBERs FROM PLANT s'rEMs 'Karel Ypndsrs', HoltenNetherlnr$, Atsslignft'n.""of

elg

' percent to Jacobus bltnilltenyand twe", y per' cent to Willem Frederik Hendrikv Zegers,- Th Hague, Netherlands lpl'icati'onFeblI-lfy 16, 19218, Seialsb. 8,696

In Switzerland Febllfy 19, 192.17,

(Cl'. v :lg-*13) a' clarin-s.

This invention relates toa new nietiodand machine for removing the be'rs from the stems of plants such asvfi'ax, hemp, jute, rarnie, and the like. More particularly/rit deals with a method and machine iormech'anically separating such bers from theother parts' ofi the plant such as the roots, the' pith, the jpectin', and other woody materials nota part of the 'b'ersL n Previously, such plants have been retted to loosen the rion-iib'ro'usmaterialsl and then 'the' plants have been passed between corrugated roll ers to break their stemsvan'd roots and loosen the'woody'naterials which than are' beaten from the stems by paddles orY mechanical' nails. `This process weakens, eritangle'siy and Often cuits many of the bers as well as 'producing a' `loss of 'a considerablepercentage lof the fibers so treated.

It is an object to this 'invention to separate the bers from plants containing them in a' new, ecient, effective" and economic' manner' without the loss of be'r's and without entangling or weakening the fibers.V I n l n Another object is" to separate such bers mechanically' without the necessity of pre1-,treating or retting the plants containing the .b'ers Another object is toV produce a machine .for separating such bersrfrom plants without en'l tangling, cutting, or losing the fibersas well as recovering .the non-nbrou's materials so separated. y y

According to this invention the non-fibrous or Woody materials are removed from Steins vof such bers containing vplants byy nrst breaking tlieA Steins containing" the be'rstb" loosen thefwoody materials and then repeatedly, quicklyQand longitudinally jerking andstretching the bers'fvt'o separate these non-nbrous or, woody materials completely from the fibers. This stretching step is based upon the relatively'liigher' ductilit'y and flexibility of the I ibers in theplants thanV` thatV of the non-fibrous or Woody materials which lare to be separated Vfrom said fibers, The drierthe non-fibrous or' Woody materials 'and`A the wetter and more flexible the fibers, the more` eiective is the separation by'tlis method. The rstepff breakingv or bending the' stems to locis'enV the" Woody materials and pitli from thedbers may be accomplished simiilt'aneou'sly with' the `step of vibrating and str'etchiiigthe"bers; however, it is more desirable to previusly break'Y thas'teins in one or more separate operationswhich'may include first splitting' dieY stemsiongitiioiriany, andthen sharply' bending jthefst'enisto 'brealiy operation is analogous to the shaking of apowder from a string lwhicliis 'fastened at one end and shaken at the other end, and then after the string is vibrating in one or more nodes the string is quicklys'tretched as a result of whichv the `small particles opowder still sticking to the vstring are'v immediately thrown on". Accordingnto this invention, this operation is repeated alongeach section of one or more cen'- tineters' ofutheT stemof a Vplant in rapid suc cession, Isay at' aratew of at least about one thousand timespr minute. n, *y A 'Since'the'dro'ots often remain on the stems of the' plants (to, be' treated and contain substantially no 'l-brons material,` they (may be removed by poundingthem` to' break away their non-fibrous woody portions' witlgfout Vdamaging' the ends of the bers in thej stems yadjacent the roots. This pre-*removal ofthe roots is4 not necessary, however, in that the breaking and/or `vibratllfsr and stretching steps will also remove the roots from the'stems. A M u j Y y Oneembodiment'of a machinejfor carrying out this process comprises essentiallya clamping and stretching means havingwtwo: pairs of parallel spaced co-operating jawsiwhich may be composed of: interengaging teeth orpribs for transversely breaking 'and grabbing the stems ,of the' plants attwo different places simultaneously along their stems; This clamping means inclu'des` resiliently mounting one of thetWojco-operating jaws of each pair of jawsgwhi'ch resilient mountin'gsY are' losat'djon oppositey sides of the" stem being clamped between'both-pars of jaws, so that any' motion 'f the' clamping means toward'each other after the stem s'clarnpe'd Vwill stretch that 'part of the; stern' residing in the space between the twovparallel jaws. YMeansarel alsov providedto open and' cls'or vibrate tlfijaw's of said clamping mea'risin rapid r'e'pat'ition ,as the stems oi' the plant are moved longitudinally betweeny said parallel pairs of jaws.` This clamping and stretch ing'means may t keine' forni or .opposing iath along .tnoedges f .eajoii or Whiohare positioned inter-engaging rits* to' form lonaitudinai jaws.

one or' both of ltheselatas,may be' vibrated to aridnfromneachother and the'y may be placed in sucliapo'stion' or angle'with respect to the mo'- tion or the stemof `the plants which are to bey DQS'SedHbetWe'en'tI/ienisolthat the ste'nis will always be at substantially right angles to the jaws of the laths and Ythese jaws will'k pass along thegieiigthof the st emlas the stems are moi/ed ioyth-ejaws.l Thesejaws'niay :be made of' any brating" 'and stretching" th'ni. 'Ih'is stretching 55suitable hard material, such as mtal or wood,

however, the lighter material, such as aluminum or wood, is preferred, in that less power is required to vibrate lighter clamping means than heavier clamping means at a speed of 1000 or more vibrations per minute. lf the jaws are made of wood, which is not as strong as metal, it is more desirable to pre-heat the stems and pre-break them including removal oi their roots, in order to increase the life of the clamping and stretching means. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of this invention, the stems are first longitudinally stripped by being passed longitudinally between three overlapping rollers, and/ or through an S-shaped groove or channel in a block to break the stems so that they will hang limp before being passed between the jaws of the clamping and stretching means. Also, meansy may be provided for pounding or pulverising the roots to remove them from the stems before they are passed between the jaws of the clamping and stretching means. Y

`Il? desired, the stems may be conveyed through the machine automatically by a conveyor which holds one portion of the stems while the other portion is being treated and then automatically engages the treated portion so that the previously held and untreated portion of the stems may be treated. The stems are aligned and conveyed through the machine :as a sheet of oers of one or only a few stems in thickness. The

Y feed to such an automatic machine may comprise a table upon which an operator lays the stems with their roots all at one end of the table upon which table the roots may be pulveriscd before the stems are fed between two closely opposing endless belts which clamp and feed the stems continuously through the machine. The machine may also be provided with hoppers and suction means to collect and remove all of the nonfibrous materials separated from the stems in the machine.

There may be provided means for adjusting the degree of stretch of eachl or the clamping means and their speed of operation as well the speed of the conveyor, the root pulverizer, the splitting and the breaking means depending upon the type of stems being processed and the degree of moisture present in these stems. more moisture present the more stretching and vibrating of the stems is required to remove the non-fibrous materials.

. The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood, by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal elevation or. one embodiment of the machine of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is an end View partially in section oi' one embodiment of a root pulverizing means which may be mounted on the table shown in Fig. 2.r

Fig. 4 is a sectional View of the splitting and/ or breaking means taken along line IV-IV shown in Figs. l and 2 with part of chains broken away;

Fig. 5 is a detail end view of the splitting rollers which may be employed on the mechanism shown in Fig. 4;

The

Fig. 6 is detailed sectional view of the breaking blocks which may be employed on the mechanism shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a sectional View taken along lines Vil- VII in Figs. l and 2 with parts broken away; l

Figs. 8, 9 and l0 are cross-sectional views of different successive Vibrating clamping and stretching means of this invention;

Fig. ll comprises two schematic sectional views of the clamping and stretching means of this invention to illustrate its operation; and

12 is a sectional View taken along lines Xl-Xl in Figs. l and 2.

Referring to Figs. l and 2, there is shown a specific` embodiment of one form of a machine for carrying out the Ymethod of this invention. .fit one end of the machine there is provided a table l upon which an operator lays the stalks or stems 2 oi' the dried plant to be dewooded with their root ends 3 all placed along the same edge of the table. These stems 2 are then pushed in a thin layer onto the lower conveyor belt a which is substantially flush with the top of the table i and moves from the table in the direction oi the arrow 5. This conveyor belt i is endless and passes around four pulleys i5, l, 3, and il, one or more of which may be a driving pulley. This belt il surrounds the splitting, breaking, vibrating, and stretching mechanisms located in the iii-st half of the machine for dewooding thatI portion oi the fibers in the stems 2 extending toward the root ends 3 from the belt fl. Engag- Y ing the top trace of the belt 4 is another endless belt I@ which passes around pulleys il and i2 and is driven at the same speed as the belt d to hold the stems 2 against the top trace of the belt i sufficiently tight to prevent them from seing pulled off of the belt #l while said root halves or" the stems are being processed.

.Above the roots 3 on the table l there is pro vided a root pulverising mechanism 2i! which may comprise a series of beveled ribs 2i mounted on the underside of a vertically vibrating hamu mering plate 22 (see Figs. 3) which may be driven by cam or eccentric mechanism 28 from a common drive shaft, such as 25 shown in Fig. 2. Co-operating with the downwardly extending ribs 2l there are provided co-operating interspaced beveled anvils 25 along slots in the top of the table i through which the resulting pulverized roots may fall into a hopper :29 or suction pipe to be removed from the machine and coia lected if desired. At this place on the table I, aY

reinforcement 2l may be located under the surface oi' the table to better withstand the pounding action of the ribs 2l of hammer 22. This hammer 22 need not vibrate more than about once a second, however its speed may be varied as desired depending upon the type and condition o the roots to be pulverized.

After the roots are pulverized, that half of the stems 2 is bent vertically downwards by a cam mechanism 30, which may be placed on the edge of the table and which may be adjusted and given a rotating and oscillating movement by an eccentric drive mechanism 3| which also may be driven from the shaft 25 by chain 32. The advantage of such a device to bend the stems down is to prevent them from being broken off by abruptly bending them so that they still may be carried by the other and horizontal halves of the stems clamped onto the conveyor 4.

The now vertically hanging portions 35 of the stems 2 pass between the splitting and bending mechanisms shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6,

respectively, which mechanisms are mounted at (see Fig. 4)

38 on' co-operating vertically travelling 'endless chains 31 and 31 which pass around sprocket and drive wheels on rollers 39 land 40. The adjacent Vfaces of these belts 31, which carry the rollers shown in Fig. and adjacent thereto on another (or the-same) chain Abelt 31 the bending blocks shown in Fig. 6, are held into alignment and engagement with each other by means of a series of xed rollers 4| (see Fig. :4) located behind each one of the downward traces of the belts 31 and 31'.

Referring to Fig.. 5, the stripping mechanism (mounted at 38 in Fig. 4.) which is first contactedby the depending stems 35, may comprise two larger rollers 42 and 43 mounted on a support 44 pivoted at 45, and. a single roller 456 mounted on a similar support 41 pivoted at 43. These pivoted supports are maintained in position with respect to each other by a pair of springs 49 on e'ither side of the pivot 45, and a pair of springs 50 on. either side of the pvot 48. These springs press against the mounting brackets 5| and 52 for the pivots 45 and 48, respectively, which brackets are connected to opposing chains 31. It should be noted that the distance between the rollers 42 and 48 is less than the distance between the rollers 43 and '46, as shown at 55 and 56 respectively, and that the roller 46A fits partially in between the rollers 42 and. 43 to roll the. stems 35 rst loosely and then tightly around a curve which not only splits the stems into at least two ribbons but also'partially loosens and'cracks the woody material and pith adjacent the bers and the stems.

Next the iibers 35 may be passed through a further and specific bending mechanism such as the S-shaped slot 60 between the blocks 6| and 62 (shown in Fig. 6) mounted on pivots 65 and (i8-v between springs 69 and 10, respectively, similar to the roller brackets 44. and 41 shown in Fig. 5. These blocksy are also vlocated in the position 38 on the adjacent chain 31 behind chain 31 as shown in Fig. 4. The fibers 35,` thus first pass around the edge 1| on block` 62, then around the wider bend 12 on block 6|, then back around a sharp and` narrow bend 13 on block. 62, and finally over the edge 114 of block 6|. 'This bending further loosens the woody materials from the fibers. The lower: portions of each block. 6|

E2 are provided with apertures 15 and 16,A

respectively, which open downwardly from the. interior bends 13 and 12, respectively, through which particles which are broken from the stems may fall andbe sucked. away in a suitable suction*V pipe 30 having apertures 81 below the bending; and stripping mechanism V(shown in Figs. 1

' and. 4).

If desired, additionalroller sets and/or. bending blocks as shown in Figs. 5 and 6V may be positioned on the chains 3:1 to co-operate as shown at 38,. depending upon the speed of rotationA of` thel chains 31 and 31' with respect to the: speed of travel of the conveyor belt 4. These splitting and'bending mechanisms may also be driven from the' shaft 25- shown in Figs. 2 and 4;

After the portions 35A have beenl bent by the mechanism shown in Fig. 6, they hang limply over the 'edge of the. conveyor 4 and then pass successivelyA through the. clamping andv stretching mechanisms of which there a-re shown in Fig.v 1 three, namely 8|-, 82 andV 83. Each one of theseY mechanisms comprises two lath-shaped:

clamping'means 185; and 36v whi'chco-operate with eachother as shown inFig. 4, oneL ofwhichlaths 85: may be xed to' the fratrie 90 byy means of adjusting screws 9| and 92 to vary its distance' from the other lath 86 which is vibrated or moved to and from the xed lath 85, or if desired both laths may be moved. The movable lath 86 may operate against springs 89 and may be connected by vtwo rods 93 .to two eccentric mechanisms 94 mounted on rotating'shafts 95 and 96, the speed of which shafts may be controlled and governed from a common driving mechanism or gear box |00 (see Figs. 2 and 12). A detailed cross section of the laths and 83 of the mechanism 8| in their separated position is shown in Fig. 8, wherein the engaging edges of each lath 'are provided with parallel ribbed jaws H0 and III, the ribs or teeth of which are interspaced to clamp, and also break or bend, the stems 35 passing between them.

The speed of vibration of lath 8G is generally between about 1000 and 2000 oscillations per minute and. itthereby sets the fibers in the stems into vibration in the space H2 between the pairs of parallel jaws H0 and lll. Diagonally 'oppo'site jaws ||5 and IIB of each pair 'of jaws on the laths and 83 are shown to be resiliently mounted against springs ||1 and H8, respectively, so that as soon as a stem 35 is clamped between the jaws, yfurther movement of the lath 36 towards the lath 85 will pull the fibers 3:5 to stretch them as shown in position A of Fig. 11. The clamping of the bers without stretching thereof is shown at position B in Fig. 11.

The second and third clamping means 8-2 and 83 are preferably provided with diiferent size jaws and spaced teeth or ribs as shown at |20 in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively. Diametrically opposite jaws |25 and |26 are resiliently mounted as jaws ||5 and IIB shown in Fig. 8, however, the space 2| between the two parallel pair of jaws on the members of 82 is greater than that space ||2 shown for the rst clamping and stretching means 8|. In this space the fibers als@ vibrate, set up by the rapid motion of the laths 86, which aids in loosening the woody materials remaining with the fibers.

The third clamping and stretching means 83 may be the same as that shown in Fig. 10 with a still larger space |3| than space |-2| between.

the jaws, and/or aprojection` |30 on one of the four jaws to further bend andstretch the iibers pass-ing between its jaws.

These laths 3|, 82, and 83 are preferably situated at a 45 angle to the direction of movement of the conveyor 4, in that the clamping means tends to bend the hanging. limp bers at the angle shownk in Fig. 1 due to the retarding of their Vmotion when they are clamped between the fast vibrating laths 85 andv stationary laths 85. Thus the stems 35 pass throughl the length of each clamping and stretching. means at substantially right angles to the jaws of these laths.

Although three separate clamping and.y stretching means are shown in Fig. 1V for treating the iirst half of the fibers- 35, more or lessv of these clampi-ng means may be employedwithout departing from the scope of this invention. Each successive clamping and stretching means may be adjusted by means of their respective screws 9| and 32 to stretch the y-bers more the same direction, and overlaping the end of conveyor 4, as shown at the center of Figs. 2 and l2. This conveyor |34 passes around pulleys |36, |31, |38 and |39 (similar to 6, 3, and 9 for conveyor 4) and is also provided with an additional endless belt i 40 (similar to I0) passing around pulleys l4| and to |42 to hold the fibers against the top trace of the conveyor |34.

The limp ber ends 35 which now have been treated now may be lifted by a rotating paddle (not shown) or by the draft from a blowei mechanism il, to be raised into a horizontal position so as to be engaged by the conveyor |34 (see Fig. 12) before the untreated ends |55 of the stems 2 are released from the conveyor 4 and drop by gravity to pass through a similar line of splitting, bending, clamping, and stretching mechanisms, as those shown and just described for the first half of the machine. Herein, the stripping rollers and bending blocks are similarly mounted on chains 231 and 231 at 238 which chains are driven around rollers, corresponding to 31, 31', 3S, 39 and .40 above described. From thence the ends through a series of clamping and stretching laths Zi, '232, 23 and 284 similar to 8|, 82, 83, except that an additional stage is usually provided for the top ends of the stalks because these ends usually require more treatment to remove the woody materials than do the lower or root ends 35. This fourth and additional clamping and stretching means 284 may be identical in form with the previous clamping and stretching means 283. Similarly, each one of these clamping and stretching means have one lath vibrating through connections 293 to eccentric cams 294 mounted on drive shafts 295 connected to the gear box Iii.

The gear box is preferably provided with one or more speed varying adjustments |65 and may include or be directly connected with an electric motor or other suitable source of energy for driving the machine.

To collect the dust and material stripped and shaken from the stems in the machine, there is preferably provided one or more hoppers 81 along the suction pipe V8|? beneath the machine. The suction in this pipe may be provided by a suction fan 88 and is preferably separate from the blower mechanism employed for transferrng the stems from one conveyor to the other in the machine.

The non-fibrous and woody material removed from the fibers treated in this machine, are suitable for food for cattle in that they contain a high percentage of pectin and vegetable fat. Also, if desired, it may be used as a filler or base for a moulded plastic building material. This is possible since the stalks or plants have not previously been retted.

The dewooded fibers from the conveyor |36 may be collected on a bar or rod in preparation for following treating operations to prepare the fibers for spinning.

These fibers are soft, souple, strong, and are not twisted which are advantages in handling and in the following treating operations.

While there is described above the principles of this invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be cleaily understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for removing woody materials passk from fibers in the kstems of plants comprising: holding said stems to hang vertically downward, bending the stems to loosen the woody materials around the fibers and then repeatedly clamping successive longitudinal sections of said stems and stretching the fibers in said clamped sections at a rate of at least about one thousand times per minute to produce standing vibration waves along said fibers in each said section to throw ofi said woody materials from said fibers.

2. A method for removing `woody materials from fibers in stems of plants comprising: holding said stems to hang vertically downward, breaking said stems to loosen said woody inaterials around said fibers andr then rapidly and repeatedly at a rate of about at least one thousand times per minute, .clamping and stretching successive short sections of said stems to produce standing vibration waves alongY said fibers in each said section to shake off the resulting loosened woody materials from said fibers.

3. A method for removing woody materials from the fibers in dry stems of plants comprising: holding said stems to hang vertically downward, rolling said stems to split said stems and expose said woody materials, bending said stems to loosen the resulting exposed woody materials around said fibers, and transversely clamping and longitudinally stretching short sections along said stems at a rate of about at least one thousand times per minute to produce standing vibration waves along the fibers of each said section, the fibers in which have a different and greater ductility and flexibility than said woody materials, to separate said woody material from said fibers.

4. The method of claim 3 `wherein said clamping and stretching step is repeated at least twice in succession, andV each time the fibers are stretched more than in the previous clamping and stretching step.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said step of rolling said stems includes rolling said stems over a curved surface.

6. A method for removing woody materials from the fibers in dried stems of plants containing roots, said woody materials, and said fibers, comprising: pulverizing the root ends of said plants to remove said roots from said fibers, holding said stems to hang vertically downward, rolling the stems to split said stems and expose the woody materials in said stems, bending said stems to loosen the woody material around said fibers, and then longitudinally clamping and longitudinally stretching short sections along said stems at a rate of at least about one thousand times per minute to produce standing vibration waves in said fibers of each said section to separate said woody ma-v terial from said fibers, said clamping and stretching step being repeated at least once.

7. A machine for removing woody material from fibers in the stems of plants comprising: clamping means having cc-operating jaws, each jaw having at least two parts cooperating with corresponding parts on the opposing jaw to grip said stems transversely of their length at spaced points simultaneously along said stems, means resiliently mounting one part of each cooperating pair of parts alternately on op-V posing jaws so that only one part of adjacent pairs of parts on the same jaw are resiliently mounted, whereby the clamping of said stem in said jaws stretches that section of said stem "9".' in the' spacebetween said two points,A means to open and' close said jaws of said clamping means in rapid repetition, andl means to move said stems longitudinally between said jaws.

3'. The machine of claim 7" wherein said jaws include parallel interengaging teeth to break and bend said stems.

9; The machine' of claim 7" wherein said clamping means comprises a pair of cooperating parallel laths having said jaws; along parallel edges of said laths. Y

10. Thel machine of claim 9 .including mean to vibrate one of said lathsA with respect to said other lath.

1l. The machine of claim 10 wherein other said lathY includes means toadjustthe minimum distance between said two laths;

12. The machine of' claim 'l including means mountedbetween two adjacent parts and extending beyond cooperating ends of said parts on one of. saidv jaws to increase the bending and stretching of said stems when said stems are clamped 'by said'two adjacent parts between said jaws.

13. The machine ofA claim 7 whereinsaid means to open and close said jaws of said clamping means includes means to perform said operation at at least about 1000 .times per minute.

14'. The machine of claim 13 wherein said o lo 23. The machinev of' claim'22 wherein said' means to split and bend said stemsincludes two opposing endless belt means'to move correspond ugly Said Opposing rollers and said opposing.

moving longitudinally of said stems to breakv said stems and loosen said woody material from said iibers in said stems, and vibrating means having av pair of spaced parallel jaws positioned transverse of said stems to clamp repeatedly said stems at two spaced points along said stems to vibrate and to stretch'that portion of said stems in the space between said jaws toseparate said woody material from said fibers.

25. The machine of claim 24 wherein said conveyor means comprises two engaging endless belts between which said stems are transversely held while they are moved through saidE machine.

26. A machine for removing woody material from bers in the stems of plants containing roots, woody material, and bers, comprising: means to pulverize said roots,` means to split and to bend said stems to expose and toloosen saidwoody material from said fibers, and vi'- repeatedly clamp successive sections of said stems between said parts producing standing waves in the fibers in said sections to separate said woody material from said bers.

16. The machine of claim 15 wherein said means to split and bend said stems comprises roller means to split said stems and means to move said roller means longitudinally of said stems.

1'7. The machine of claim 16 wherein said roller means comprises three rollers, two rollers moving along one side of said stems and the third roller moving along the other side of said stems partially in and between said two rollers.

18. The machine of claim 17 wherein the distance between said third roller and each of said two rollers is different.v

19. The machine of claim 15 wherein said means to split and bend said stems includes a pair of S-shaped surfaced spaced cooperating blocks and means to move said stems longitudinally between said cooperating surfaces of said blocks.

20. The machine of claim 19 wherein the two bends of said S-shaped surfaces are of different,

stems.

brating means having a pairl of` spaced parallel jaws to clamp said stems simultaneously at` two spaced points'repeatedly and transverselyralong? their length to vibrate and to stretch that portion of said stems in said space between said' jaws each time said stem is clamped whereby said woody material is separated from said bers.

27.'The machine of claim 26 wherein said pulverizing means comprises interengaging hammer and anvil grooves between which the root containing portions of said stems have said roots pulverized.

28. A machine for removing woody material from bers in the stems of plants containing roots, woody material, and fibers, comprising: a feeding table on which said stems are laid and aligned with their roots all in the same direction, two sets of two opposing endless conveying belts between which said stems are held horizontally at a given point along said stems and moved through said machine, means on said table to pulverize said roots from said stems, means to bend the stems extending from one side of said belt vertically downward, roller means moving longitudinally of said vertically bent portions of said stems to split said stems and expose the woody material therein, block stripping means moving longitudinally of said vertically bent portions of said stems to bend said stems and loosen said woody material from said fibers, a plurality of successive vibrating lath means having a pair of spaced parallel jaws having at least two parts on each jaw cooperating with corresponding parts on the opposing jaw, said jaws being positioned transverse of said stems to clamp simultaneously repeatedly and successively between cooperating parts on said pair of jaws two spaced points along said vertically bent portions of said stems to vibrate and to stretch that portion of said stems between said points to separate said woody material from said fibers, means to transfer the resulting dewooded vertically bent portions of said stems onto the second set of said two opposing endless conveying belts, and similar means to successively split, bend, vibrate, and stretch the other portion of said stem extend ing on the other side of said rst set of two opposing endless conveying belts to produce bers free from roots and woody material.

29. The machine of claim 28 including means to vary the speeds of said means.

30. The machine of claim 28 including suction means to remove said woody material from said splitting, bending, vibrating, and stretching means.

31. The machine of claim 28 wherein said means to transfer the resulting dewooded portions of said stems comprises a blowing mechanism.

32. The machine of claim 28 including means to adjust the amount of stretch produced by each successive vibrating lath means.

33. A method for removing woody material from iibers in stems of plants comprising: holdingv said stems to hang vertically downward, bending said stems to loosen the woody materials adjacent said bers, and then clamping successive longitudinal sections of said stems and stretching the bers in said sections clamped at a rate of at least one thousand times per minute to produce variable standing vibration Waves along said iibers in each said section to separate said woody materials from said bers.

34. An apparatus for winning bers from dbrous plant stems, comprising a pair of jaw members having at least two pairs of opposing clamping parts, means for moving said bers between said jaw members, means moving said jaw members toward and from each other,

means to iixedly support one of said parts of one pair on one jaw member, and means to resiliently support the other part ofrsaid one pair on the opposing jaw member, so that aV iixed support of one pair lies adjacent a resilient support of the adjacent pair on the same jaw member.

35. A machine for removing woody material from fibers clamping means having cooperating jaws, means for moving said bers between said jaws, each jaw having at least two cooperating parts with corresponding parts on the opposing jaw to grip said stems transversely of their length simultaneously at spaced points along said stems, and means to resiliently mount one of said parts of each pair of cooperating parts and of each pair of adjacent parts on the same jaw.

KAREL VONDERS` References Cited in the flle of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 988,151 Summers Mar. 28, 1911 1,371,805 ONeill Mar. 15, 1921 1,390,922 ONeill Sept. 13, 1921 1,403,830 Barbieri Jan. 17, 1922 1,592,317 Wessel July 13, 1926 2,244,971 St. John June 16, 1941 2,412,445 Delegard et al. Dec. 10, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 466,695 Great Britain June 2, 1937 535,060 Great Britain Mar. 27, 1941 677,428 Germany June 26, 1939 in stems of plants comprising:A 

